Chapter - 2 : 13 AM
The hospital lights made everything look colder than it actually was.
Amara sat alone on a plastic chair outside the emergency room, staring at the piece of paper trembling between her fingers.
$18,740.
She read the number again.
Then again.
As if somehow the zeros would disappear if she stared long enough.
They didn't.
Her phone vibrated in her hand.
BANK BALANCE: $43.17
Amara closed her eyes.
“I'm screwed.”
“You are.”
Her eyes snapped open.
A man was sitting beside her.
She hadn't heard him approach.
He was dressed completely in black, his clothes expensive enough that Amara immediately knew he didn't belong in a hospital waiting room at two in the morning.
He looked at her bill.
Then at her.
“You're going to need more than forty-three dollars.”
Amara stiffened.
“Who are you?”
“Someone who can solve your problem.”
She laughed bitterly.
“Unless you're secretly a billionaire doctor, I don't think you can.”
A faint smile touched his lips.
“I'm not a doctor.”
“Then leave me alone.”
She turned away.
The man didn't move.
“My name is Lucien.”
“I don't care.”
“I know.”
Amara looked at him again.
There was something unsettling about his eyes.
Not because they were unusually dark.
Because they looked like they already knew her.
“You know my name?” she asked.
“I know quite a lot about you.”
Her stomach tightened.
“That's creepy.”
“Perhaps.”
He reached inside his jacket and placed a small black card on the seat between them.
No company logo.
No phone number.
Just one name embossed in silver.
LUCIEN VALE.
“Call me when you're ready.”
Amara picked up the card.
“Ready for what?”
“To stop worrying about money.”
She almost laughed again.
Almost.
Instead, she looked down at the hospital bill.
Her younger brother was behind those doors.
Her only family.
The doctors had told her they needed the money immediately if they were going to continue his treatment.
She had already borrowed from everyone she knew.
Sold what little jewelry she owned.
Worked double shifts.
And still, it wasn't enough.
She looked back at Lucien.
“How much?”
“Eighteen thousand seven hundred and forty dollars.”
Her heart stopped.
Exactly the amount on the bill.
“You're offering me the money?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Lucien leaned closer.
“Because I want something from you.”
Amara's instincts screamed at her to run.
“What?”
He reached for the card and turned it over.
On the back were three words.
ONE YEAR.
“What does that mean?”
“You work for me for one year.”
“Doing what?”
His eyes remained fixed on hers.
“Whatever I ask.”
Amara stood.
“No.”
She grabbed her purse.
Lucien didn't try to stop her.
“You'll change your mind.”
“I won't.”
“You will.”
She walked several steps before his voice stopped her.
“Amara.”
She turned.
Lucien was still sitting calmly in the chair.
“If you walk away, your brother doesn't get the treatment he needs.”
Her face went pale.
“You don't know anything about my brother.”
“I know he has six months left without treatment.”
Her fingers tightened around her purse.
“I know you've already been denied two loans.”
She couldn't breathe.
“And I know,” he continued quietly, “that by tomorrow morning, the hospital will begin discussing discharge.”
Amara stared at him.
“Who the hell are you?”
Lucien stood.
For the first time, his expression changed.
The smile disappeared.
“I told you.”
He walked toward her.
“I'm the man who can solve your problem.”
He stopped inches away.
Then he whispered:
“Your problem is that you think you have a choice.”
Amara's heart pounded.
She should have walked away.
She knew that.
But then the emergency room doors opened.
A doctor stepped out.
“Amara?”
She rushed toward him.
“How is he?”
The doctor hesitated.
“We need to speak privately.”
Her stomach dropped.
They walked a few feet away.
The doctor lowered his voice.
“His condition has worsened.”
Amara's eyes filled with tears.
“What does that mean?”
“We need to begin treatment tonight.”
“Tonight?”
“Yes.”
“How much time do we have?”
The doctor looked at the floor.
“Not much.”
Amara closed her eyes.
Behind her, she could feel Lucien watching.
She turned around.
He was standing exactly where she'd left him.
Waiting.
Patiently.
As though he'd known this moment would come.
Amara walked back to him.
“You said one year.”
Lucien nodded.
“You'll give me the money?”
“Yes.”
“All of it?”
“Every cent.”
“And after one year?”
“You walk away.”
Amara studied his face.
“What exactly am I agreeing to?”
Lucien reached into his jacket and pulled out a folded contract.
He handed it to her.
“Read it.”
She opened the document.
There were only a few pages.
The first page contained her name.
The second contained the payment amount.
The third contained one sentence written in bold.
THE CONTRACTING PARTY AGREES TO OBEY LUCIEN VALE WITHOUT QUESTION FOR A PERIOD OF ONE YEAR.
Amara looked up.
“What does 'without question' mean?”
Lucien's eyes darkened.
“It means exactly what it says.”
She should have walked away.
Instead, she thought about her brother.
She thought about the hospital room.
She thought about the number on the bill.
Then she picked up the pen.
Lucien watched her sign her name.
The moment the ink touched the paper, the hospital lights flickered.
Once.
Twice.
Then everything went completely dark.
Amara froze.
Lucien leaned toward her ear.
“You should have asked what happens if you break the contract.”
The emergency lights came on.
Amara looked at him.
“What happens?”
Lucien smiled.
“Then you become mine forever.”
End of Chapter One
